A Daily Dose of Insight and Common Sense

The results of temporarily strengthening the economy with artificial gains have long-term negative effects. The unhealthy economic atmosphere created by over-regulation caps the benefits of hiring. Health insurance, worker’s comp., stricter requirements for larger businesses, and the unknown impacts of proposed legislation all limit expansion and deter entrepreneurship. Innovation, improvements, and new industry are caged in red tape and government assistance programs. It requires so many private sector jobs to support a single government salary, especially when government workers make about 40% more for doing that same job. The government should not be in the investment business. We need good stewards, not better brokers with our tax dollars. It’s time to get off the juice.

It is depraved for a generation to deprive the next without leaving at least a clean slate. A generation should strive to leave the nation better than they received it. It is reprehensible that we are spending the taxes and revenue of the youth and even the unborn. Simply put, our National Debt is “Taxation without Representation”. Those under 18 and those not yet conceived do not have a vote or a voice. They will be enslaved with the responsibility of paying back the burden we are currently stacking up, or pass it down to their children. Every dime spent on the interest robs the country of better roads, schools, and personal savings, and leaves a poorer quality of life for the future. Some are willing to step up and defend their own rights, but few the rights of others. We are now at 12.9 trillion and counting. It is wrong to use our children’s future as collateral.

We are a middle class, middle-income family who works hard and volunteers often. We are fortunate to be a one income family and spend generous time with our children. In today’s economy we must consider what steps we would take if something were to happen, if the blue-collar job that supports us were no longer there. It was disheartening to discover that the life we work so hard to provide would still exist. Nothing would really change if our income were cut in half. Our quality of life would remain even if our work ethic diminished, if we simply didn’t care about who was contributing to our well-being, if we let the state take of us. We would be receiving tax credits instead of paying into the system. Our medical expenses would be handled for us, instead of the $150 a month required for our employer based plan, along with the $400 a month we contribute to our personal Health Savings Account. We would qualify for subsidized housing and not have a mortgage payment due every month, food stamps putting dinner on the table, and low-income priced services to reduce our utility bills. Later in our lives, the government would pay for our children to go to college, senior assistance programs, and if we relied on Social Security we could stop paying into that 401k and afford to buy that 60” flat screen. What incentives are left? Self-respect, self-esteem, and personal pride remain, but they are fading fast in our entitlement society. No wonder the middle class is diminishing. Quality of life depends more on how you think, than what you make.

The original Boston Tea Party was the culmination of “No Tax without Representation.” The media and those uninvolved in the movement today place an assumed emphasis on the word “tax.” The vast majority of the movement has no problem with paying taxes; they only want “representation.” The colonists rallied against the tyranny of the English government. They simply wanted a voice for their service to the crown. The Tea Partiers of today feel that the current leaders of this country don’t hear their voices, share their values, or even value the opinions of those they represent. They work for the people, not big business, special interests, or their own pocket books. The movement began under President Bush with the passage of TARP, and yet it is slandered for being racist and anti-Obama. Tea Partiers assemble on tax day to remind the government of whose money they are spending. But they are patriots that also meet as often as the 4th of July, September 12th, December 16th, Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, at city halls, state capitols, and local parks. They have local barbeques, picnics, and book clubs. They are sincere. No membership applications or dues required – simply show up. You are likely to see some people you know, make some new friends, and learn more about making your voice heard. Those at rallies are educated, informed, and involved in their communities. They are grandparents, veterans, mothers, small businessmen, blue-collar workers, and people you see at church on Sunday. A typical Tea Party line-up: the Pledge, Star Spangled Banner, and a prayer for our leaders and our military; they are urged to call their representatives, run for office, get educated about the political system and legislation, register to vote, and take part in the process that affects their lives and future generations. The threads that hold the grassroots gatherings together are issue and policy based. They are concerns about the national debt, rising deficits, unemployment, fading liberties, and growing government. If liberty, freedom of speech, and equal representation, are un-American, then what has America become?

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The enormous shroud of the U.S. tax code hides an agenda and upholds congressional abuse of power. The tax law resembles a fat man wearing a beach tourist shirt printed with the image of a tan, thin, figure in a swimsuit. We put up with the charade because we all know what’s really underneath and no one wants to see that. The real need is for a diet, but Congress doesn’t have the will power. It does have the power to throw its weight around hoping you will simply look the other way. Tax provisions use write-offs and credits as financial carrots on strings, dangling dollars in front of businesses and tax-payers, hoping they can be bought, bribed, or swayed into following their agenda. When Americans look up and see where we are being led, we are prodded from behind to keep moving. Penalties, fines, and harsher regulations, are used to keep us in line. The current destination: social justice, the green agenda, and increased federal power. The Flat Tax or Fair Tax options won’t be considered without a dramatic increase in accountability. The current system’s complexity conceals the man behind the curtain. Look up and see who is pulling the strings.

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About

Although a few entries may be a little hard for some to swallow, my hope is to show readers a fresh perspective, by linking the issues and problems of today with analogies from everyday life.

I had taken a break from daily writing to realign my offline priorities. Gotta keep it all in perspective. I hope to make almost daily posts again and keep you clicking back to see newer posts as they are written. I know time is a rare and valuable asset, thanks for spending some of yours here.